In 8A No. 9 Oswego (10-1) will travel to No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (11-0). While I don't know anything about Oswego, Lincoln-Way East has won two close games in the last few weeks, 15-14 over No. 17 St. Charles East (8-2) last week, and 18-14 over Bolingbrook (7-3) three weeks ago. Are the Griffins beatable? Or will they meet up again with Maine South (10-1) in the semis next week?
And that brings me to No. 13 Naperville Central (9-2) at No. 5 Maine South (10-1). Will the Hawks get a chance to redeem themselves for their Week Two 28-26 loss to Lincoln-Way East? And will they get an opportunity to defend their 8A crown against Loyola (10-1)? Or will Naperville Central -- my dark horse -- spoil all that and get a chance of their own to play Loyola again in the 8A final after beating the Ramblers, 13-10, in the 2013 final? (A game, if memory serves, in which the Redhawks' offense didn't score a touchdown.)
In 7A, we could conceivably get a semifinal showdown between No. 9 Lincoln-Way Central (10-1) and No. 12 Lincoln-Way West (9-2). Sounds confusing, doesn't it? The only thing we can say for sure about that game is that it would take place in New Lenox. What's in the water down there?
During the regular season, Central topped West, 21-17, in Week Two, and the Knights' only loss came to -- you guessed it -- Lincoln-Way East, 28-14, in Week Five.
In the bottom half of the 7A bracket, No. 18 Mount Carmel (8-3) could face No. 11 St. Rita (9-2) in the semifinals. They're both underdogs this week, however, so it's unlikely. But wouldn't it be something if the Catholic League Blue had four teams (including Providence) in the semis?
In 6A the Game of the Week could definitely be No. 2 Nazareth (10-1) at No. 6 Sacred Heart-Griffin (9-2). The visiting Roadrunners won the 5A title in 2015 and the 6A crown in 2014. Sacred Heart-Griffin, meanwhile, has appeared in the state finals in three of the last four years, finishing second in 6A last year and winning the 5A title in 2014 and 2013. Could this be the most overlooked contest of the day?
Finally, in 5A, there's No. 4 Lemont (10-1) at No. 1 Phillips (11-0) at Gately. Phillips went undefeated in 2015 en route to the 4A crown and beat big, bad Loyola in Week One of this year, but the Indians have won ten straight after a Week One 21-0 shutout at the hands of 7A quarterfinalist Batavia (10-1). This could be a heck of a contest too. And even if Phillips survives this one they may have to face another undefeated squad, No. 2 Sterling (11-0), in the semifinals next week. Mama never said it would be easy!
The weather report for Saturday is crummy: high thirties and cloudy. But at least it won't be raining. This will be my last chance to see a game in person as we will be in New York next weekend. I have Loyola at Marist as my Game of the Week, but I just might have to go to a contest closer to home and earlier in the day. We'll see. Enjoy the games!
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